Tag Archives: ashram

The Mystical Teachings Have Changed the Way I Live by Rudrani (Rosemary) Nogue

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Rudrani (Rosemary) Nogue

Rudrani (Rosemary) Nogue

A yoga student gave me a greeting card a few years back. It said, “The way you live your life has changed how I live my life.” The way Swamiji gives so generously of the mystical teachings, which she learned at the feet of her Guru Muktananda, has changed how I live my life. And, the way I live my life keeps evolving, the more yoga practices I do and the more I avail myself of Swamiji’s Grace. I couldn’t go back to how I used to be even if I wanted to — which I don’t.

The more I dive into practices and programs, the more I get bite-sized pieces of understanding that guide or push me along to my inner Self. These include practicing and teaching asana and leading group meditations, my own meditation and japa, chanting the Guru Gita and listening to Swamiji’s talks online, the year long course “Guru & Self,” offering seva and taking more training (I recently retook Meditation Teacher Training). Everything I do is designed by Swami Nirmalananda who, along with my own efforts, is birthing me into who I really am.

Back in 1999, when I started training with Swamiji (then Rama), I came to learn yoga poses to teach. But this path I have been given is so much more than what I originally came for, more than I even knew was possible. I have been given mystical teachings that, for centuries, were secret teachings. Having Swamiji as my Guru has put me in the flow of this living lineage, through which the teachings have been passed from teacher to disciple for thousands of years. Swamiji has been charged with bringing the yogic mystical teachings into the world. Mystical teachings are not mainstream; they are not popular and they are not for everybody. But they are for me, and my guess is that they are for you, because you are reading this.

How do I live my life now? I am more ME. I am more present, more aware, more at ease, more kind and more clear. I am more able to be aware when I am not Self and I know how to get back. I am more willing to risk. Recently, after Swamiji’s Shaktipat weekend that I hosted in Calgary, I had my first clear experience of speaking up louder when I was inner connected and teaching a yoga class. Clearly, more of my Self had been uncovered through the mystical mystery of our Shaktipat weekend. This allowed me to be Self-connected and speak out at the same time. It was time to speak up and be heard, and something had been cleared that allowed me to do that.

So now it is time for me to use my stronger and clearer voice to ask you to donate during our April Fundraiser, “Yoga in the World,” to support the continuing flow of the mystical yogic teachings into the world. Please join me and my husband with your donation to support the rare gift of a living, accessible Guru who imparts mystical teachings in an understandable way.  Because this path isn’t mainstream, we depend on donations for one third of the income needed to run SVA. From your deep gratitude and your deeper Self, please make an offering so the Ashram can flourish and continue to offer the secrets of yoga to you and to our community. Click here and make as meaningful a contribution as you are able, to support the generous way that Swamiji imparts the mystical teachings to us.

Considering Seva by Marlene Gast

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Devapriyaa (Denise) Hills, Seva Coordinator

Devapriyaa (Denise) Hills, Seva Coordinator

Seva — also called selfless service and karma yoga — is described in the Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 3.  In Verse 18 Krishna instructs Arjuna that “’Every selfless act’” is ultimately a way to know yourself as Self, a path to Self-Realization, the purpose of life, the goal of all of the practices of yoga.

I’ve served on seva communication teams since 2008, and this year, since the Ashram and Master Yoga consolidation, I notice a new, powerful synergy in seva. Sometimes it feels as though I’m sailing along on rocket powered wings, both in the seva itself and in the way that seva continues to dissolve lifelong obstructive patterns, opening me inward to Self.

Since our consolidation, expansiveness is enhancing seva teams as well, including leading to the creation of new seva teams.  Seva Coordinator Devapriyaa (Denise Hills) offers this introduction to them:

Two seva teams have just gotten underway. First is the Emcee Team. Bindu (Maureen) Short was the Emcee at last Sunday’s satsang. John Frank, Sri (Sonya) McNeil & Kanchan (Connie) Mohn are also Emcee Team members. Our second new team is the Music Team, who have already brought their offering to Sunday’s Satsang, beginning last week with Vicharini playing OM Nama.h “Sivaya before meditation.

Everyone has one or more talents and skills.  Where would you like to offer your time and talent? It takes only 2-4 hours per week.  You are especially needed for the following:

  •          Web updates (we train you!)
  •          Constant Contact (we train you!)
  •          DYMC cleaning and set up (a local opportunity)

There are other seva opportunities as well. Once you make yourself available, Swami Nirmalananda reviews your skills/interests survey, working with Devapriyaa to find the seva that serves you best.

When you are ready to take on this practice, email seva@svaroopavidya.org.  Devapriyaa will send you a link to complete the seva survey that Swamiji will personally review. When Swamiji suggests your seva, you decide whether it is an opportunity that you would like.  Having assisted many yogis in finding their seva, Devapriyaa says it is “quite beautiful…profound and grace filled…sometimes subtle — a beautiful spiritual practice.”  Let the yoga of seva open you to MORE!

Trusting the Process of Seva by Gayatri (Barbara) Hess

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Gayatri

Gayatri (Barbara) Hess

I continued this path of volunteering as I grew into adulthood.  I also became part of several groups in which my spiritual growth was nurtured.  As part of my growth, I gained a deeper understanding of the concept of tithing of my time, talent and treasure.  Initially, my mind was quite contracted and controversial about giving my time, talent and treasure.  At some point I decided I needed to trust the process and “just do it.”  My life grew from volunteering to serving, and from serving as an obligation to serving from a space of gratitude in which I live to serve.

When I became part of the Ashram, the opportunity of seva was mentioned.  Initially I thought, “I do a lot of service in my other communities.   That should be enough.  I don’t have time for more seva.”  When I would sit in meditation or pause and reflect after listening to an audio recording from Swamiji, my heart would swell with gratitude.  In gratitude I was urged to serve.  Initially, my mind did what it always does.  Thoughts of doubt surfaced, “What do you have to offer?  You are not part of the inner crowd.  What if Swamiji thinks you are not good enough?”  I moved forward and offered to serve.  I trusted the process.  I did not put limits on how or where to serve.  I wanted to offer my love and gratitude to the source that was giving me so much, a path to discover my SELF.

I wanted to perform seva as a way of supporting the Ashram where it needed help.  In offering my service without attachment I have been asked to serve in various ways.  I assist Jennifer with typesetting.  I assist on the gardening team, and I have recently been asked to assist with some of the administrative tasks on the gardening team.  I am also on the special events team and helped create the Japathon last year.

In October 2013, I attended the conference as part of the seva team.   Initially, when asked to serve in three capacities, I did resist.  I did not want to commit too much!  Once again my inner voice reminded me, “Just do it.”  I can trust the process and know that I have all the time, energy and resources I need to serve.  I want to give freely to the source that has given so freely to me.  I give in gratitude, not out of obligation.  I deepen my understanding and capacity to love and grow when I serve from this space of selfless service and gratitude.  Thank you, Swamiji, for this opportunity.

If you, too, would like to undertake the ancient yogic practice of seva, send an email to our Seva Coordinator, Devapriyaa Hills, at seva@svaroopavidya.org. She will get you started on your skills survey.  You can sign up for ongoing seva or for a special project. You will be contributing two-to-four hours of your time and talent per week.  Not only will you be strengthening the Ashram organization through your selfless service, you will be adding a powerful yoga practice to your life.  What new and wonderful fruits will you harvest?

You Gotta Dig Deeper by Swami Nirmalananda

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Devaraja-stakeThere was a metal stake sticking out of the tree stump that we wanted to grind.  At the Ashram, we had removed a tree, but the metal stake inhibited the stump grinding plan.  Devaraja (Steve) Thoman tested the stake and, finding that it wiggled well, said he thought he could remove it, but needed some equipment. 

One morning at breakfast, I joked with him about one of the differences between men and women — that guys like to get dirty, even muddy.  Later in the morning, Devaraja decided to tackle the metal stake.  This was late fall, with very wet ground and a few patches of snow on the ground.

He pounded on the stake to loosen it, then grabbed and pulled.  It came up a few inches.  He repeated the task, each time getting a little more of the stake above ground. A passing neighbor saw him and stopped to offer help.  Devaraja thought he’d be fine and said, “No, thanks.” 

A few pulls later, he groaned with the effort as he pulled.  The neighbor was passing by again, with his young daughter on a small bike riding along with him.  This wonderful gentleman came running to help.  Devaraja warned, “You’ll probably get muddy.”  The neighbor laughed and said, “That’s why I’m outside!”  They both laughed, with Devaraja thinking of our breakfast conversation. 

They pounded on the stake, wiggled it and then pulled, repeating the task several times. Each time the stake came out a little more.  What started as 18” of metal stake grew to 4’, then 5’ and more.  They were shocked to discover, when they finally got it out of the ground, it was 8’ tall!

The neighbor and his daughter went on their way.  Devaraja, exhausted and panting from the exertion, lay on the ground with his head in a snow patch for 5 minutes.  He then came in to share his trophy, photographed here.

I completed the lesson for him, “The roots of your stuff are always deeper than you think.”  You think it’s a little problem but, when you dig into your own needs and reactions, you’ll find that they are rooted deeply in there, even rooted in lifetimes of self-repeating patterns.  You have to dig deep to get free.  Mantra does the digging for you.  Do more japa.

New Retreat Environment by Marlene Gast, Board, VP, Communications

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The Desmond Dining Room

Pennsylvania Svaroopa®  programs are now being held in a luxurious retreat environment. The Desmond Hotel & Conference Center in Malvern provides beautifully appointed guest rooms, dining room, and other spaces, both inside and outside, that form our “temporary Ashram,” in Swami Nirmalananda’s words.

As I write this blog, the ATT 201: Teaching Half Day Workshops course is in its last day in our temporary Ashram. Student Sarvataa Christie has been posting food portraits on Facebook. The vegetarian meals are sumptuous!  Yesterday, another student said, “This is so wonderful, like a retreat even while I’m learning so much. I really needed this.”  The “A” in Ashram is translated as “away from” and “shrama” is the fatigue that can accumulate from the daily routines of driving, working, shopping, caring for others, etc. As 2014 begins, we yogis can all look forward to immersing in that Ashram experience, whether we are in professional teach training or immersing in a program to support and expand our capacity to live in Consciousness. Check out our 2014 Calendar to make your plans today!

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Breakfast at The Desmond during ATT: 201 Teaching Half Day Workshops

The consolidation of Master Yoga with Svaroopa®  Vidya Ashram has been the impetus for this move to a retreat environment. Because Svaroopa® YTT and retreats are now organizationally under the “sacred umbrella” of the Svaroopa®  Vidya Ashram, explains Swamiji, “The Grace flows more powerfully…With your inner processes fueled by Grace, the outer environment needs to be one that provides more support.  We cannot provide a cocoon, nor do we want to create isolation from the rest of life, but we must begin with providing you with shelter and food.”

Now yogis can look forward to freedom from the chores of daily living and more time for deep immersion in the “yoga” of it.  Our new retreat environment will support us as the unfolding of transformation takes place from the “inside-out,” as Swamiji describes it. Especially in Teacher Training, programs have always been immersions, but change and growth have progressed from the “outside-in” — through being taught “breathing practices, poses, anatomy lessons, philosophy discourses, teaching theory and experiential processes,” as Swamiji summarizes it.  This approach enabled us to “get inside.”  Now being trained under the “sacred umbrella” of the Ashram will mean, according to Swamiji, that “Grace creates the inner opening, and then you do the outer work, trying to keep up with the internal shifts that are happening…”

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Lunch: Black-eyed peas, sweet potatoes, and artichoke hearts

Ample support and downtime for this process will be a significant part of YTT going forward. Those of us who fly into Philadelphia will no longer have to rent a car; the Ashram will shuttle you. Instead of rising early to drive to class, all of us will commute in slippers from our hotel rooms to early morning classes; we will be served fresh, hot meals on china in a beautiful dining room, just an elevator ride from the classroom; at evening’s end we need travel only a few hundred feet from class to bed. As Swami Nirmalananda describes, “Lunch breaks can include a nap, some time outside (depending on the weather) or a walk on the hotel’s footpath.  The yoga classroom will be a quiet room during meal breaks, both for yoga therapy sessions with the Trainers as well as for those who might want to do Shavasana, Ujjayi or extra meditation.” And sharing a room with another yogi undergoing the same process offers the support of heartfelt connection.

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Fruit Cup with Sherbet

Swamiji explains that the goal of Svaroopa® YTT is the same as before: “That you get beyond technique and theory, as important as they are, so you experience the ‘yoga’ of the yoga.”  Now, clarifies Swamiji, “when teacher training is an Ashram program, you get the ‘yoga of the yoga’ through Grace.”

Photos from this first week of January plus student comments say it all: The move into our “temporary Ashram” it’s going just the way Swamiji predicted.

SVA Consolidation FAQs

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swami

Swami Nirmalananda Saraswati

1. How will the consolidation affect my Shishya Membership?

Click here to read the answer.

2. Will I have less, or limited access to my Guru?

Click here to read the answer.

3. Are there any new discounts, initiatives, or incentives for Shishya members, such as the one’s discussed at the conference for MYF courses?

Click here to read the answer.

4. I am concerned that the teachings will be “watered down” now that so many people with diverse interests in Svaroopa are involved.

Click here to read the answer.

5. Is Swamiji going back to teaching asana?

Click here to read the answer.

6. Will there be opportunities to stay at the Ashram?

Click here to read the answer.

7. What about permanent resident opportunities?

Click here to read the answer.

8. Will having so many people with such diverse interests “lessen” the Shakti, or dilute it somehow?

Click here to read the answer.

9. I am concerned that there will be less access to courses and retreats…will there be room to accommodate everyone?

Click here to read the answer.

10. Will Swamiji return to teaching and writing about the Guru Gita now that MYF and SVA are consolidating?

Click here to read the answer.

11. How will Swamiji be able to manage all the details that come with a larger consolidated organization?

Click here to read the answer.

OM svaroopa svasvabhava.h namo nama.h

What is a Yogic Heart? by Amala (Lynn) Cataffi, SVA Board President

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Amala

Amala in Anjali Mudra
Send us a photo of your hands in Anjali Mudra (prayer position). Please include your name and zip code. We’ll add your heart-full hands to our online gallery – click the picture above to see it as it grows!

For me, a yogic heart is an ongoing love affair with Grace. That flow of Grace is the essence of Svaroopa® yoga. I have chosen to partake of all of the limbs of yoga that the Svaroopa® sciences offer: asana, meditation, seva, and gladly, boldly, into the deepest teachings of all.  Whether you choose any or all of these limbs, the Grace is always showering you and aiding your personal process. My love affair is expressed outwardly through my giving (dakshina) and my giving back (seva).

During the last India trip this was so vivid for me. We had just finished the Maha Abishek at the Nityananda temple. This ancient ritual honors Nityananda as a form of the Divine – the formless in form. As a Board member, I helped perform the ceremony, but I had a strong sense that the experience was not about me.  It was not even for me, but was about giving and service.

When we left, we were given fruit and flowers that had been on the huge murti (enlivened statue) of Nityananda during the ceremony. There were 2 Indian women outside who had obviously not eaten well in some time, and I gave them the fruit, even though I secretly wanted it. Immediately, I was propelled into a state of peace and love that I had never before known or experienced. It was so overwhelmingly beautiful that I could almost not move or speak! I could have stood there in bliss all day!

Every time I donate money or time, I open myself further to that flow.  It does not always manifest in such a “POW!!” experience, but giving is something that opens you up like nothing else… Talk about core opening!

Come and share the experience of a deeper core opening than you have ever known. Give to support that which has given YOU so much to be thankful for!

In service and gratitude…Amala

Click Here to Give a Gift From Your Heart!

Changes in YTT/ATT Courses – by Swami Nirmalananda

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Two days after Teacher Training programs were consolidated under the Ashram, our first program began — Foundations Review, leading to YTT Level 1.  I knew the “Sakti[1] shift would affect the students, so I had to set up a system that would make it seamless.  It’s like the astronauts blasting off from Earth; how do you subject them to all those G-forces and still make it easy?  That’s what Grace does: makes the hard easy.  That’s my job description.

The challenge was that I couldn’t add more teachings nor remove any poses, not if I wanted them to get the comprehensive education that a Svaroopa® yoga teacher needs.  What could I do?  I wove japa into their day in two short segments, one before lunch and one before dinner.  Five minutes of out-loud mantra repetition together, honoring your own Divine Self by repeating the mantra…  It’s been amazing!

I also added a daily candle ceremony (arati). At the course opening, we honor the Divine Light within each student as well as in the Masters of our lineage.  One of the Teacher Trainers performs this traditional ceremony during the course opening mantras.  It only takes about 90 seconds but it transforms the room and everyone in it.

We also open with an arati every morning, with the YTT students getting the chance to sign up and learn how to do this.

Reports on How the Changes Are Working

Mandy Dixon

Mandy Down’s hands in Anjali Mudra

Teacher Trainer Vidyadevi Stillman says, “I have noticed that the practice of japa before meals helps the students in a number of ways. If stuff comes up in the classroom or in their lives (hearing from family and friends from home), they handle it with more ease and Grace. They are experiencing more equanimity — mentally, emotionally, and physically. There is a new level of support for the internal process they go through, the inner clearing of the stuff that gets in their way.  They are more inwardly settled. It’s truly amazing to see them completing their japa before their meal, and sitting with hands together in Anjali Mudra. They keep their hands much longer at their hearts and sit longer in their own Self all day!”

“The japa pulls them away from whatever they are caught up in as we approach their meal breaks,” describes Teacher Trainer Karobi Sachs. “They are caught up in their bodies or minds — engaging with a new, challenging pose, worrying ‘Can I do this?’ Japa pulls them back to the Self so easily, so quickly!

“After the Newcomers Class, our group went out to eat at a local restaurant and one person asked, ‘Shall we do Japa before the meal?’ It was clear that these practices are beneficial and meaningful to them! It’s nice for us Teacher Trainers to do japa before lunch and dinner, too, to also settle into ourSelves.

“In the mornings, the arati to our Guru photos and murtis brings a cohesiveness to our day’s practices in a new way. I’ve heard students say that their meditations are much deeper, and they are getting so much out of the chanting and meditation.

Many have told me, ‘I’m really enjoying the meditation; it’s really working for me.’ In the most recent training, they saw Nirmalananda on the first day, instead of closer to the middle of training as in the past. I could see that her presence shifted them/settled them deeply from the start.”

Prakash (DavId) Falbaum took the recent YTT Level 2, and he recalls, “As I drove into the Exton parking lot, it literally felt like driving up to the Ashram. I could feel that same flow of Grace, now at Exton. I began my week with Vidyadevi’s “Deeper, Deeper” Half-Day Workshop. Through my 10 days of training that followed, the biggest thing I noticed personally was a change in how I handled my resistance. When I hit resistance, I didn’t care; every time I hit my resistance, I expected to get upset, but I didn’t. I was able to deal with it and stay internal. I feel that has a lot to with the flow of Grace.

“For example, after working on Navasana most of one morning, I couldn’t just muscle through it. I finally had to use my abs, and I needed extra props. Normally I resist extra props, which I had to accept from Vidyadevi. In the past I would have gotten angry at myself. But this Level 2 had an atmosphere that was so very light. I just accepted where I was, and moved through the process. Also, I found that four hours of sleep per night was enough, and didn’t get tired.

“It was wonderful to see Swamiji three times instead of twice as in Level 1. With the MYF-SVA Consolidation she has the freedom to visit and offer teachings in programs more easily. I can see they will just get better when they become residential.”

This Stuff Works – in a Wonderful New Way

With the “bookends” of japa and arati happening morning, noon and night, no one ever gets far away from their own Self.  The bootcamp approach to Teacher Training, so well known in every Western style of yoga, has been softened.  It’s a warm-hearted approach, a deep-hearted approach, a tail-lengthening and core opening way of learning core opening.  The interweaving and consistency, outside and inside, is a true joy to behold — tangible in the eyes and the breath of the teachers-in-training.  They’re a whole new breed.

[1]   Pronounced shak-ti; this is the Sanskrit transliteration form I’ve been using for the last three years as it is computer friendly and easy on the eyes.  Read more about the Velthius transliteration here.

If I Could Live Next Door – by Swami Nirmalananda

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swami

I often think how wonderful it would be if I could live next door to you.  There’d be an ease to the day’s activities, with a neighborly support and maybe a bit more.  We’d wave from our driveways or from our kitchen windows. You might share a cup of tea with me on some mornings; we might talk of consciousness into the night periodically.  I created the Year-Long Programmes to make up for the distance between your home and mine.

In the busy-ness of life, I know you cannot easily add a “course” to your week, so I tried to avoid the college course model.  Instead of creating deadlines or exams, I’ve built a program that reaches into your home and into your life, to make your yoga real — to make your Self tangible.

Recently a yogini told me, “I want to study with you more.”  She didn’t want to move in to the Ashram and she was very clear that she didn’t want to take any immersion courses.  So I explained about the Year-Long Programme now getting underway, but her eyes glazed over.  You know that glaze if you’ve spent any time around teenagers; it is a turned off, tuned out, “I’m not getting what I want” look.  Except that what she wants is found in that course!  So I thought I could at least tell you about my design for these programs — why I created this format for you.

Every Guru has a special group meeting, for those who have been studying the longest.  It’s usually a weekly meeting, in person, often in the Guru’s office or bedroom, to discuss subtle points or even current news.  To find the yoga in the yoga.  To find the yoga in life.  It’s a rare and precious opportunity to participate in such groups!

Because I have been serving a widespread community for more than 20 years, I wanted to create the same intimacy, but use technology to dissolve the miles between us.  I also wanted to throw the entry doors wide open, so people could pick their participation level depending on their time and finances.  My plan was to get the Grace in and under your skin, and the teachings so interwoven in your life that you begin to breathe yoga.  For that, frequency is the key!

I knew that weekly might be too much for your schedule, so I opted for 10-day gaps (mostly).  Every 10 days, you get a new communiqué.  First comes an article, usually 5-8 pages of teachings with stories and graphics.  In about ten days, you get an audio recording; it’s like you’re sitting in the room when I’m giving a lecture, except you can press rewind when you want to, and you can listen to it multiple times.  Ten days later we have a group discussion in a conference phone call (not recorded).  Here I ask you questions, so you will describe your experiences and your understandings; I can meet you there and give you a boost to the next level.

It all comes together in the Weekend Workshop near the end of the course.  After studying for months and having such meaningful conversations with your yoga-buddies and me, we gather together for a weekend immersion in the theme.  For me, it’s like starting the program on Day 8 of a 10-day retreat!  Everyone is already so deep:  so deep within their own vastness, and already so deeply bonded with each other at such a profound level.

The retreat is followed by one more article, audio and phone call, smoothing your reentry into a world that you see with new eyes.  The last phone call is so heartwarming, reflecting on all that has been accomplished as well as reveling in the new level you’ve reached — which is the beginning for your next step.

The multiple enrollment levels serve as planned; they give you the ability to choose what works for you.  Perhaps you want only the articles (Option 1).  Or you can add the audios to the articles; this is Option 2.  With the phone calls, you are in Option 3, in the every-ten-day flow with articles, audios and phone calls.  The full enrollment is Option 4 – the whole of it!

I bring this up because, in a few days, you lose Options 3 & 4. I Am Shiva has recently begun, with the first article and first audio already published.  You can still enroll for the whole course, any time before the first phone call, which is Wednesday November 13.  If you miss that date, you may only enroll in Options 1 or 2.  And you’re welcome there, if that level serves you best.

So I’m inviting you to move in next door…  Join me in the “I Am Shiva” course.  Now is the time!

Comings & Goings

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With our focus on the prep and presentation of the conference as well as the follow-up, we are catching up in reporting our comings and goings.  The Consolidation still underway means we are building a local staff, who can work together as well as take yoga classes together, based in Downingtown — at Downingtown Yoga Meditation Center.

It is perfect to be announcing our new team during the celebration of Diwali, the beginning of the new year in yoga, as well as the opportunity to thank several dedicated Svaroopis their service.

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Hrdayaa

Thank you to Barbara McCarthy for serving as our Enrollment Advisor after Caroline Kennedy. Unfortunately, Barbara is not able to continue.  Welcome to Hrdayaa Abplanalp, a long-time Svaroopi who has been a leader in the Master Yoga community for over 15 years. Hrdayaa (her-da-YAA) was the first SVA Enrollment Sevite, serving the Ashram in its founding year and beyond, and will now serve you as your new Enrollment Advisor for Teacher Training and yoga programs.  When in doubt, call Hrdayaa!  610.644.7555, extension , or email her at programs@masteryoga.org.

Our local Ashram-Master Yoga staff is expanding, creating a cohesive team who has the luxury of working together on site.  Welcome our new staff members, who have already begun their staff Svaroopa® yoga classes.

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Akima

Akima Redding serves as Enrollment System & Traffic Coordinator for the organization. As the name suggests, she’s our enrollment system expert and is the staff member who processes your SATYA memberships, payment plans, monthly donations and provides clarity in the two systems’ workings. While Traffic Coordinator may call to mind a whistle, stop sign and safety vest, Akima directs the movement of the communications (including this blog!) that you receive on a regular basis, working both with staff as well as sevites to support our continuing commitment to transparency as well as to make Swamiji’s teachings easily available.

As Household Assistant, Nick Duchnesky has joined Ashram Chefs Jen & Chris in the kitchen. He provides them assistance prepping for, serving and cleaning up after meals, grocery shopping and cleaning other areas at the Ashram.

Sarvataa Christie’s name may already be familiar to you as she has been a dedicated Svaroopi and sevite for many years. In addition to her sevas, Enrollment Team and E-Group Moderator, Sarvataa is joining the staff as Personal & Events Assistant. She’s already shined the light of clarity on several areas and relieved Swamiji of several administrative projects as well as helped prepare for several special events.

Our ever-growing Seva Team has expanded with several new sevites, even while we are saying thank you to some who are leaving their positions.

Thank you to Niranjan Matanich who has kept the Downingtown Yoga website up-to-date for the past couple years,  Niranjan continues to coordinate the SATYA Q&A for Swami Nirmalananda, collecting your questions and assisting you with archival information in between the publication dates.  SATYA members, send your questions to questions@masteryoga.org.

We are sorry to see Joanna McNeal leave, as she helped build Master Yoga’s seva program by serving as Seva Coordinator, helping many of you find the right seva spot for you.   It all begins with a questionnaire, where you tell us about your skills and interests, so we can find something that feeds you while you are giving to the Ashram-Master Yoga.  Email seva@masteryoga.org if you would like to offer your time and energy to support this work.

Rudrani Nogue was an Assistant Editor for Tadaa! supervising and editing the SVA articles since its inception in January.   Rudrani continues to serve on the Ashram’s Board of Directors.

The simple word “welcome” does not seem an appropriate word as none of these yoginis are strangers to seva, but are merely stepping into new positions:

Saguna Goss, who serves on Master Yoga’s Board (for many years), is increasing her seva practice with bookkeeping support, Downingtown Yoga website maintenance, and document organization.

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Marlene

Karuna Beaver, who has hosted MYX programs and a Shaktipat retreat in addition to performing on-site seva at the Ashram, is joining the staff of Tadaa! as the Assistant Editor. She’ll be supporting Editor Marlene Gast in planning articles as well as coordinating writers and proofreaders.

Ekamati Tsurutani, a former E-Letter writer, is now supporting bookkeeping by helping organize and file E-documents.

Shanti Catacchio, one of the Svaroopis  who brought you September’s Japathon!, is joining the Community Outreach Team. She’ll be supporting yogis who are signed up to receive communications but are not getting them due to tech obstacles.

Gayatri Hess, another Japathon! sevite, is joining our Communications Team. She’ll be helping typeset the communications like “Spotlight on Your Yoga” and “INSIDE Yoga” that you receive in your emails.

While we know that comings and goings are part of life, it’s a little like bittersweet chocolate – to say thank you and goodbye to those who are departing for various reasons, and welcoming so many staff and sevites in new positions.  This last two months have been a whirlwind of “Sakti!  Consolidation makes things hum!  As the year winds down, we’ll be finalizing our internal systems and getting everything ready to serve you in 2014!  We plan to serve many, especially with the Discounts in our 2014 Initiatives!